Description
The ZRS-4, built for the US Navy by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation was christened the USS Akron in August of 1931, “as a deserved tribute to the world’s new lighter-than-air capital.” The name was also in keeping with the US Navy’s practice of naming aircraft carriers for US cities. The airship provided airplane support and search capabilities until April of 1933 when a violent storm caused a crash off of the coast of New Jersey and took the lives of 73 of the 76 crew members.